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Counting words

个 gè The counter that doesn't look: 个 Grabbing one of something without asking what shape it is. Anything becomes a single lump in your hand. Chinese 5 uses

本 běn The spine in your hand: 本 A stack of pages bound into a block with a spine. Your thumb rests on that spine. Chinese 4 uses

张 zhāng If it lies flat, it's 张 One thin surface spread out flat. A face you could sweep your palm across. Chinese 5 uses

条 tiáo If your eye can follow it, use 条 A single strand your finger can trace from one end to the other. Straight or winding, it doesn't matter. Chinese 5 uses

只 zhī One pulled out of a pair: 只 Lifting exactly one out of a pair or a group. The rest are still sitting somewhere else. Chinese 5 uses

件 jiàn One item taken out on its own: 件 Pulling one file out of a drawer and setting it on the desk. One separate item to deal with. Chinese 4 uses

双 shuāng Useless alone: 双 A set that only works when the two sit side by side. Left with one, it stops being useful. Chinese 4 uses

杯 bēi You're counting the cup, not the drink: 杯 One cup held in your hand. Whatever fills it, what you count is the cup. Chinese 4 uses

辆 liàng If it rolls on wheels, it's 辆 One thing rolling along the ground on wheels. No wheels, no 辆. Chinese 4 uses

家 jiā One door with a sign: 家 A house with one door and a sign hung over it. People come and go through that door. Chinese 4 uses

次 cì One stroke each time it happens: 次 Making a tally mark on paper each time something happens. The number of marks is the count. Chinese 4 uses

遍 biàn All the way round, start to finish: 遍 Going all the way around a loop, start to finish. Stop halfway and it doesn't count as one. Chinese 4 uses

位 wèi The counter that seats a person before it counts them: 位 A place kept empty for someone, and an open palm pointing at that place while counting the people. Chinese 5 uses

座 zuò The counter for things rooted to the ground: 座 A heavy mass settled onto a base on the ground, refusing to budge when you push it. Chinese 5 uses

间 jiān The counter for space cut out by walls: 间 A pocket of empty space fenced off by four walls inside a building, reachable only through its one door. Chinese 5 uses

つ tsu Counting on your fingers: つ Holding up fingers one at a time, without naming what kind of thing it is. Japanese 5 uses

個 ko If it fits in your palm, it's 個 A compact little lump that sits in your palm — not flat, not long, just a solid thing. Japanese 5 uses

台 tái The counter for things that run once switched on: 台 One unit placed on its base that starts turning under its own power the moment you switch it on. Chinese 5 uses

人 nin 人 counts heads, nothing else Tapping heads in a line as you count them. Not who they are — how many places get filled. Japanese 5 uses

部 bù The counter for parts locked into one whole: 部 Separate parts clicking into place one after another until they make a single whole you can no longer take apart. Chinese 5 uses

本 hon Even a phone call is one 本 Pulling out one long, slender thing and standing it up. If you can see a line running through it, it's 本. Japanese 5 uses

篇 piān From the first line to the last: 篇 A run of writing that starts at the first line and closes at the last, laid out across the paper. Chinese 5 uses

枚 mai If it's flat, it's one 枚 A single thin, flat sheet. If you can stack them, it's 枚. Japanese 5 uses

首 shǒu From the first note to the last: 首 A tune that opens on its first note, runs, and stops dead on its last — one stretch with a beginning and an end. Chinese 5 uses

支 zhī The straight stick your fingers close around: 支 One straight, thin, long rod held between the fingers. Chinese 5 uses

匹 hiki If you can pick it up, it's 一匹 A creature small enough to hold in your arms or your palm, wriggling along under its own power. Japanese 5 uses

台 dai 台 is a machine on its stand The character 台 means 'stand'. Picture a machine resting whole on its stand, holding down a space of its own. Japanese 5 uses

块 kuài One chunk broken off something bigger: 块 A thick piece pulled away by hand from a bigger mass that used to be whole. Chinese 5 uses

片 piàn One thin flat slice: 片 One slice shaved thin off a mass and laid out flat, so light it barely presses on your palm. Chinese 5 uses

回 kai One turn around is one 回 The same action swinging all the way around and back to where it started. Each loop clicks the counter up by one. Japanese 5 uses

度 do 度 is a notch on a scale A scale marked in notches, like a thermometer. Each time something happens, the mark climbs one notch; all that changes is how far it has climbed. Japanese 5 uses

群 qún Many stuck together and moving as one: 群 Separate things drawing close until they become one body and shift as a single lump. Chinese 5 uses

对 duì Two that only make one when set facing: 对 Two matching things set to face each other so that they lock into a single pair. Chinese 5 uses

冊 satsu Bind it and give it a spine: 一冊 Sheets stacked and stitched along one edge. That spine you feel when you pick it up is what 冊 counts. Japanese 5 uses

套 tào Pieces that only feel complete together: 套 Separate pieces fitted over one another in turn until nothing is missing and they form one full set. Chinese 5 uses

顿 dùn One sitting, gone through start to finish: 顿 Stopping what you were doing, sitting down, going through the whole thing once, and getting up again. Chinese 5 uses